Good News TO the Poor, or Good News ABOUT the Poor?

You have to watch yourself with Scripture. It has a funny way of reading you.

Yesterday I preached on seeing and mimicking the actions of God in our world, and together we practiced the ancient Christian prayer often known as lectio divina. The gospels (both metaphorically and literally) follow the Psalms in being clear faithfulness is connected to our vision. Blind Bartemaus followed Jesus only after his sight was restored. And then there’s this stunning text I’ve missed for years, “hidden” in the gospel of John.

Jesus, speaking in defense of his choice to break religious law in an act of service, says, “The truth is that the Son does nothing on His own; all these actions are led by the Father.The Son watches the Father closely and then mimics the work of the Father. The Father loves the Son, so He does not hide His actions.” (John 5:19-20, The Voice. Italics in text, bold I added for emphasis)

Oh my I love that, why I have missed this for so long? Perhaps its because for nearly my entire life I’ve not connected the gospel of God to God’s acts. My theology has been so disconnected from the acts and works of God, and overly focused on narrow theological categories inherited from bygone eras (Omniscience, omnipresence, etc…).

And perhaps I’ve missed a text that speaks so clearly as this one does because I, well, frankly, don’t exactly know what God does in our world. I’ve been so locked in to the ideas that God loves me, and is interested in soul work, salvation, and sin management I’ve always assumed that’s the answer to the question, “What does God do in our world?”

Without denying those categories as being some part of God’s work in our world, that clearly isn’t ALL there is to God’s great project, is it?

Jesus came announcing “The Kingdom of God has come near,” not “something new called personal salvation is here at last.” His message reminds me of Psalm 145 poetic phrasing about all God’s people will “bless you and speak of the glory of your kingdom, and tell of your power, to make known to all people your mighty deeds, and the glorious splendor of your kingdom.”

We see God most clearly through what God does, not through theology or abstract thought.

Which begs the question, what does God do? What was Jesus watching his Father do closely, and then mimicking?

We could look a lot of places, but Sunday I took us to Jesus’ first sermon in the Gospel of Luke (a self-styled agenda statement). Luke 4:18-19 reads:

‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed me
to bring good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives
and recovery of sight to the blind,
to let the oppressed go free,
to proclaim the year of Jubilee and the Lord’s favor.’

And here we lingered deeply, practicing lectio divina on the text as a way of Praying the Text, rather than thinking it or explaining it. I’ve done this enough in my 15 years of ministry to know how powerful, and/or dangerous lectio can be. It can comfort the most agitated spirit, drive the most intellectual person to feel rather than think a text, and clarify discernment for the most confused community. And, it can see through the safety and illusions of our western religious conceptions and leave our propped up faith crumbling down, where it may well belong. Praying a text refuses to grant permission to dismiss it with the same vigor we’re accustomed to in study.

And so I led my people in praying this text, as a way of clarifying our vision and seeing what kinds of things God does in our world and lives. And it read me right to the bone. Here I am, a progressive-liberative Anabaptist dripping with a preferential option for the poor and passion for righting the wrongs of our unjust political, economic and social systems. I believe oppression is real, there are systemic reasons for poverty, and that race still holds millions captive.

What this text read in me is how confident I am proclaiming this gospel about the poor, oppressed and disadvantaged rather than to the poor, oppressed, and disadvantaged. This, I couldn’t escape, is a categorical difference. God’s good news is for the poor, not just about them. Some who know me outside the blogging sphere would be quick to release my tension by pointing out ways I do connect.

But releasing the tension to hastily will rob me my chance to learn from this text, and to grow in faithfulness. So today I will sit with the gospel’s critique of my life, and press in further. If this is the kind of thing that God does, will I – like Jesus – mimic the work of the Father?